Our mission is to promote coexistence with nature in urban environments while educating and empowering youth.
We raise funds to create what we call “mini nature reserves” across the US.
Urban areas are growing, expanding, and encroaching on more and more habitats each day. While MNR acknowledges the efficacy of setting aside large expanses of land to remain untouched by human activity, we believe this sets up a false dichotomy that can ultimately cause more harm than good. That is the notion that spaces are either wild or developed, or worse: for animals or for humans. Here at MNR, we believe that man is not apart from nature, but a part of nature. What we do in our cities can have drastic effects on the immediate and surrounding ecosystems, good or bad.
Here at MNR, we have identified six areas of opportunity in urban cities:
- Urban Spaces: This encompasses downtowns, malls, industrial areas, and the park strips, empty lots, and medians found there.
- Local Parks: These are green spaces set aside for human recreation. Playgrounds, outdoor gyms, picnic tables, and grass lawns are common.
- Suburbs: This encompasses residential areas and the park strips and medians found there
- Agricultural Spaces: This is often humans and animals conflict most. More research is always needed to find the most ecologically friendly pest management practices. MNR also promotes the use of gardens and hedgerows to attract native crop-appropriate pollinators as a means to increase crop yield.
- Rooftops: This encompasses all rooftops regardless of location. This is classified as fundamentally different from other spaces, because rooftop habitats come with their own challenges and considerations.
- Unprotected Wilderness: These are areas close to or in a city that are wild in the traditional sense of the word, but don’t receive the same level of protection or attention as a state park or national park. These spaces are sometimes described as “undeveloped.” They are often not even perceived by local citizens as being wild, and as such, these habitats eventually undergo development without criticism. Habitats especially prone to this fate are wetlands, grasslands, and scrubs.
A “mini nature reserve” looks different in each of these spaces and fulfils different roles. Agricultural Mini-Nature Reserves for example should aim to reduce run off, replenish ground water, reduce pesticides, increase yield, attract native pollinators, and prevent crop destruction from animals. In this case, the “reserve” not only refers to the plants and the physical space they occupy but also the practices employed by the farmer. Likewise, an Urban Mini-Nature Reserve should aim to not only attract animals, but also consumers to the local businesses. Urban Nature Reserves should also seek to minimize bird collisions, prevent building infestations, and preserve pedestrian visibility.